Improvement in thumb-stalls for facilitating the sorting of letters



J. 'S. BUYER. Thumb-Stall for Facilitating the Sorting of Letters.

Patented Sept-3, 1878.

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IEFETERS, PHQTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTPN. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. BOYER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THUMB-STALLS FOR FACILITATING THE SORTING 0F LETTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 207,708, datedSeptember 3, 1878; application filed January 31, 1878.

- office clerks and others to sort letters and other documents withoutwetting their thumb and fingers; and this object I attain by arubbeithumb-stall perforated, ribbed, or roughened in the mannerdescribed hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 shows the thumb-stall and themanner of applying and using the same; Fig. 2, a section of the stall,and Fig. 3 a modified form of stall.

The thumb-stall A consists of a tube of rubber of such a size that itmust be stretched to fit over the-thumb and to embrace the lattertightly. The tube may be open at the end, as shown, or closed, and isperforated at the portion a, which is brought into immediate contactwith the letters or other papers. It may also be perforated at otherpoints for ventilatin g purposes. The rubber, owing to theseperforations, has such a frictional affinity for the surface of thepaper that a letter-sorter can distribute a mass of letters, separatingletter after letter from the mass, Without resorting to the usual planof periodically wetting his fingers and thumb.

The surface of the rubber would be apt to wear smooth in the absence ofthe perforations, which always insure the desired frictional contact.

Ribs or projections c 011 the stall will have the same effect as theperforations, or the thumb-stall may be roughened on the surface in anyother manner.

I claim as my invention- The within-described thumb-stall, composed ofrubber perforated, ribbed, or roughened, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two sub scribing witnesses.

JOHN S. BOYER.

Witnesses:

HARRY A. CRAWFORD, HENRY HowsoN, Jr.

